Swedish Armed Forces have confirmed that a foreign submarine entered its waters. However, the military failed to determine which country the intruding vessel came from.

“The Swedish Armed Forces now confirm that a submarine
violated Swedish territorial integrity. Results from the analysis
following the intelligence operation conducted in October are
unambiguous,”said a statement.

However, experts can’t “determine the nationality of the
intruder.”

“There is no doubt, we have excluded all other explanations.
Swedish territory has been seriously and unacceptably violated by
a foreign power,” said Supreme Commander of the Swedish
Armed Forces, Sverker Göranson, at a press conference.

The army says that several pieces of evidence led them to the
conclusion.

They said that a picture taken “by a member of the public
shows an object moving at a speed of approximately 1 knot.”

“The picture also shows the kind of spray that arises when
water is pushed out of scuttles at the top of a submarine.”

Swedish Armed Forces added that its sensors also confirmed echoes
in the area and “recently made traces were found on the
bottom.”

“Each of these observations has a high credibility. Together
with other observations, and a confirmed submarine, they generate
a pattern. Thus, the intelligence operation confirms that a
foreign power has violated Swedish territorial integrity. The
gravity of this is obvious,” added Göranson.

According to Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who was also present
at the conference, Sweden will create a new national security
committee.

“We will defend our territorial integrity using all means at
our disposal," he said, as cited by The Local . "There
is no doubt that there has been a territorial violation of our
waters".

Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told The Local after
the press conference that the country has “a security
environment around us that has changed in a negative way."

"I think that there is a new security situation in the Baltic
Sea...so we have a new environment and we have to handle
that," he said.

On October 17, Sweden started its biggest military operation in
the Baltic Sea since the Cold War, explaining that the troops
were engaged in a search for possible “foreign underwater
activity.”

The Swedish media alleged the operation could be a hunt for a
“damaged Russian submarine” in the area. But Moscow has
repeatedly denied the accusations.

Sweden announced it was ready to use force if it detects any
foreign submarine in the waters of the Stockholm Archipelago.

The Swedish Navy’s efforts to find the elusive foreign activity
cost the country €2.2 million ($2.8 million). According to the
latest draft budget published in the wake of the naval operation,
Stockholm plans to increase military spending for 2015 by $93.7
million.